GR 550
CONFIDENTIAL
DESK BY 11303Z
CONFIDENTIAL
HKK 2431
RECEIVED
886
849
FM BANGKOK 0111Z JUN
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TEL NO 350 OF 1 JUNE
AND TO IMMEDIATE KUALA LUMPUR, SINGAPOR
DESK OFFI
•
PAKARTA MANILA RESU
INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG (FOR GOVERNOR), UKMTS NEW BORK! PD
UKMIS GENEVA, PEKING, MOSCOW, WASHINGTON, HANOI, MODUK (D14). SAVING TO CANBERRA, WELLINGTON, PARIS, BONN, UKREP BRUSSELS. YOUR TELEGRAM NO 120 TO KUALA LUMPUR: VIETNAMESE REFUGEES: ASEAN.
1. CALLED TODAY ON THE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION AT THE MFA, WHICH IS THE DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE
FOR CO-ORDINATING THE REFUGEE POLICY WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL
TRAMEWORK.
2. STRESSING THAT I WAS SPEAKING ON INSTRUCTIONS, I SPOKE N TERMS OF YOUR TUR AND LEFT A BOUT DE PAPIER, TOGETHER WITH COPIES OF THE STATEMENT CALLING ON THE TAIWAN AUTHORITIES TO
RECONSIDER THEIR POLICY AND ALSO THE EXTRACTS FROM THE LORD PRIVY
SEAL'S SPEECH ON 30 MAY. I WAS ALSO ABLE TO HAND OVER THE TEXT
OF THE PRIME MINISTER'S REPLY TO THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL (YOUR
TELEGRAM NO 225 TO UKMIS NEW YORK). I ALSO MADE THE POINT THAT
HMG HAS A LOCUS STANDI IN THE MATTER BECAUSE OF ITS RESPONSIBILITY
FOR HONG KONG AND THE PLIGHT OF THE 43,000 REFUGEES THERE. 3. BIRABHONGSE SAID THAT HE HAD NOT YET RECEIVED ANY REPORT FROM THE THAI AMBASSADOR IN LONDON ABOUT THE MEETING WITH CORTAZZI ON 30 MAY. HOWEVER, HE CONSIDERED THAT THE LINE BEING TAKEN BY
HMG WAS REFRESHING AND IT WAS GOOD TO HEAR A SPADE BEING CALLED
A SPADE. AS WE WOULD KNOW, THE THAI GOVERNMENT WAS REVIEWING ITS POLICY TOWARDS VIETNAM BUT THIS MIGHT TAKE SOME TIME. THAILAND
HAD NOT BEEN ONE OF THE 52 COUNTRIES APPROACHED BY THE UN
SECRETARY-GENERAL, WHICH WAS NOT SURPRISING, BUT THE MFA HAD OF
COURSE SEEN THE TEXT. BIRABHONGSE WENT ON TO SAY THAT IT WAS
DIFFICULT NOT TO BE SKEPTICAL ABOUT THE PROSPECTS OF RAISING THE
REFUGEE ISSUE THROUGH THE UN. THE DECEMBER, 1978 MEETING IN
GENEVA AND THE RECENT MEETING IN JAKARTA HAD NOT PRODUCED
VERY MUCH IN THE WAY OF POSITIVE RESULTS. THERE WAS A REAL DANGER
THAT IF THE VIETNAMESE WERE ALLOWED TO DESPATCH, SAY, 10,000
PEOPLE A MONTH DIRECT FROM VIETNAM THEN THE INTERESTS OF THOSE
REFUGEES AND OTHER EXPULSEES IN COUNTRIES SUCH AS THAILAND MIGHT
BE IGNORED. WALDHEIM'S RECENT VISIT TO THAILAND HAD RAISED HIGH
EXPECTATIONS WHICH DID NOT SEEM TO HAVE BEEN REALISED IN THE
EVENT, THE THAIS WONDERED, THEREFORE, WHETHER THE UN WAS A
CONFIDENTIAL
/PROPER